GULAG V. GITMO Equivalency Test
Mood:  chatty
Topic: Yahoo Chat Stuff

GULAG V. GITMO
Equivalency Test

In a recent report, Amnesty International referred to the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo as "the gulag of our time." The term--a Russian abbreviation for Glavnoe Upravlenie Lagerei, or Main Camp Administration--refers to the network of Soviet labor camps established during Stalin's rule that continued, in a different form, for much of the Soviet Union's history. During a press conference on Tuesday, President Bush rejected the charge as "absurd." Amnesty has defended its use of the term. Below, a comparison of the two prison systems, with the aid of Anne Applebaum's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Gulag: A History.

Individuals Detained:

Gulag: Approximately 20 million passed through the Gulag. The population at any one time was generally around two million.

Guantanamo: 750 prisoners have passed through the camp. The current population is about 520.

Number of Camps:

Gulag: 476 separate camp complexes comprising thousands of individual camps. By the end of the 1930s, camps were located in each of the Soviet Union's twelve time zones.

Guantanamo: Five small camps on the U.S. military base in Cuba.

Reasons for Imprisonment:

Gulag: Opposition to the Soviet regime's forced collectivization, including efforts to hide grain in cellars; owning too many cows; need for slave labor to complete massive industrialization and mining projects; political opposition to the Soviet system; being Jewish; being Finnish; being religious; being middle class; being in need of reeducation; having had contact with foreigners; refusing to sleep with the head of Soviet counterintelligence; telling a joke about Stalin.

Guantanamo: Fighting for the fundamentalist Taliban in Afghanistan; being suspected of links to Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups.

Judicial Review:

Gulag: None. "Trials" of those sent to the Gulag often lasted only a few minutes.

Guantanamo: The Bush administration has argued that detainees are unlawful combatants, not prisoners of war. The Supreme Court ruled in June 2004 that prisoners must receive hearings on their legal status. One hundred and fifty have decided to challenge their detention, and dozens of lawyers have been arriving at the base to represent them. Human rights groups and lawyers for detainees have argued that the military hearings are inadequate.

Red Cross Visits:

Gulag: None that I could find.

Guantanamo: Regular visits since January 2002. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has reportedly complained to the U.S. government about several aspects of prisoner treatment, including occasional beatings and other interrogation tactics. Per its standard practice, the ICRC does not make its complaints public.

Deaths as a Result of Poor Treatment:

Gulag: At least two to three million. Mass burials were often employed to keep death rates secret (camp commanders sometimes received permission to remove gold fillings before burial). In some particularly brutal periods, camp commanders simply executed thousands of prisoners. But deaths due to overwork were much more common. It is estimated that 25,000 gulag laborers died during the construction of the White Sea Canal in the early '30s. One convoy of "backward elements" destined for the Gulag in 1933 included about 6,000 prisoners; after three months, 4,000 were dead. "The survivors had lived because they ate the flesh of those who had died," according to an account cited by Applebaum.

Guantanamo: No reports of prisoner deaths.

Typical Treatment:

Gulag: For the most part, Gulag prisoners provided labor for the Soviet system. Treatment varied widely, but most prisoners lived in overcrowded barracks, and prisoners occasionally killed one another in an effort to find space to sleep. Deadly dysentery and typhus outbreaks were common. Prisoners often had inadequate clothing to protect themselves from the elements, and most camps lacked running water and heat.

Guantanamo: A recent Time magazine report found that "the best-behaved detainees are held in Camp 4, a medium-security, communal-living environment with as many as 10 beds in a room; prisoners can play soccer or volleyball outside up to nine hours a day, eat meals together and read Agatha Christie mysteries in Arabic. Less cooperative detainees typically live and eat in small, individual cells and get to exercise and shower only twice a week." Human Rights Watch and other watchdog groups have collected firsthand testimony from prisoners alleging abuses, including the use of dogs, extended solitary confinement, sexual humiliation, and "stress positions." An official investigation uncovered only minor abuses, and most detainee accusations have not been verified.

Religious Observance:

Gulag: Prisoners were occasionally able to smuggle bibles into the camps and hold religious observances, including Christmas and Easter, in secret. Being caught conducting services, however, could be grounds for further punishment. Applebaum records a prisoner's description of a priest creeping through a camp, trying to say mass without being detected.

Guantanamo: Prisoners are provided copies of the Koran and daily time for prayer. Arrows on the floor of each cell point to Mecca. Meals are made in accordance with Muslim religious restrictions. Several prisoners, however, reported delays in receiving their copies of the Koran and that guards mistreated the Koran on multiple occasions. For its part, the Pentagon has documented five instances of Koran mishandling though it denies that a Koran was ever flushed down the toilet, as one detainee alleged.

The detention center at Guantanamo is legally dubious and has been a public relations disaster for the United States. The treatment of certain prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan has been far worse. Amnesty's president Irene Kahn says that these practices are "undermining human rights in a dramatic way." Her outrage is valuable and essential. If only she could express it without employing obscene moral parallels.

(Origional story requires registration)
The New Republic ~ David Bosco ** GULAG V. GITMO Equivalency Test

Black activists renew calls to break from Dems
Mood:  d'oh
Topic: Funny Stuff

Black activists, with encouraging words from Louis Farrakhan and some encouragement from Jesse Jackson are renewing calls to break with the Democratic party and start a third party. The loss of so large and loyal a segment of the Dem base would be a huge blow to an already declining institution.

Blacks urged to form independent political movement

WASHINGTON - Growing disappointment with the Democratic Party, capped by a so-called Senate compromise last week that paved the way for the confirmation of at least three Right-wing judges, has prompted some activists to consider leaving the Democratic Party and forming an independent political movement.

"Everybody knows that Blacks are the most loyal folk to the Democratic Party. We have been loyal. And what do we get for our loyalty?" asks Mary Frances Berry, former chair of the U. S. Commission of Civil Rights. "African-Americans should form an independent political movement; not a party, but a movement and say, 'This is what our issues are and any candidate who supports these issues we will support. And if you don't support them, we won't support you.'"

Over the past 30 years, Democrats have received more than 80 percent of the Black vote in every presidential election.

"When it comes to Black people, African-American people, Afro-American people - whatever we're calling ourselves this year, Negro, colored - there is no party, except the White party," says Thomas N. Todd a Chicago attorney and longtime civil rights activist.

"When White people decide they want their own best interest involved, whether they are Democrats or Republican, they vote their own interests and Black people have got to start doing the same thing. We've been putting party politics ahead of the self-interest of Black people."

The fact that Todd and Berry, neither of whom has been linked to what are considered fringe political movements, are ready to bolt the Democratic Party could spell serious trouble for Democrats.

Others activists may come to the same conclusion after 14 Democratic Senators signed on to a deal that paved the way for the confirmation of at least three far-Right judges. Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen was subsequently confirmed for the 5th Circuit with a vote of 56 to 43.

Under the agreement, former Alabama Attorney General William Pryor, nominated to the 11th Circuit, and California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rodgers Brown, nominated for the D. C. Circuit, will be voted on and are likely to be confirmed.

Democrats said they went along with a compromise in order to avoid the, "nuclear option," the Republicans' threat to abolish the option to filibuster, a maneuver employed by the party out of power to stop a particular measure from reaching a floor vote. Under Senate rules, it takes 60 votes to end a filibuster, known as cloture. Republicans had vowed to change senate rules to end filibusters with a 51-vote majority if Democrats did not agree to allow the vote on at least three of the nominees.

Even Democrats who were not a part of the negotiated deal, but who voted to move ahead with the Owens vote are being strongly criticized by activists.

"People like Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and the rest are just behaving like mainstream Democrats," says Berry.

Obama, the only African-American senator, broke with his Congressional Black Caucus colleagues to support a floor vote on Owen. He then voted against her nomination.

"It just strikes me that anger at the Democrats, when they mounted this fight, led this fight, held fast for two or three months and then finally just came up short because we couldn't persuade any Republicans to hold off on the nuclear option, just seems to me to be directing anger at the wrong place," Obama says. "I think the Democrats in the Senate did everything that they could to prevent these nominations from coming up. But we only have 45 seats."

Even so, some other Democratic stalwarts in the Senate, Barbara Boxer (Calif.), John Kerry (Mass.) and Edward Kennedy (Mass.) voted against the last-minute compromise, knowing Republicans had enough votes to confirm any nomination once it reached the Senate floor.

"After the Democratic leadership pleaded for years to get strong support against these judges and then to capitulate, and then have Owen approved, it was nothing short of a sell out," says Harvard University law professor Charles Ogletree. "We cannot afford to be puppets or capitulate like we're mannequins. That's one of the consequences of allowing this extraordinary self-destructive conduct by the quote, 'leadership.'"

Todd says an independent movement in the Black community should start from the bottom up rather than by elected officials who are already tied to the two major parties.

"I think that Blacks in the local community ought to start organizing," he says. "An independent movement at the grassroots level, at the bottom and not even expect it to be done from the top down." Ogletree agrees.

"We don't have an opportunity to waste another four years looking for a messiah to come from some other place. The talent is right within our grasp. We need to nudge the self-assured, incredibly accomplished young leaders."

Rainbow/PUSH Coalition founder and President Jesse Jackson Sr., a two-time candidate for president on the Democratic ticket, acknowledges that African-Americans are getting shafted by Democrats.

"They protected the minority in the Senate; not the minorities outside the Senate," Jackson says. "They did not fight to protect minorities from judges who are anti-civil rights, anti-labor, anti-consumer.Our interests are not being protected in this arrangement." However, Jackson stopped short of calling for Blacks to leave the Democratic Party.

But Minister Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam argues that African-Americans are not being respected by either Democrats or Republicans and hinted that he might launch an independent candidacy for president in 2008.

In a panel discussion before the National Conference of Black Mayors last month, Farrakhan said, "If we leverage our strength, we'll make both parties bow and you'll get what you've been looking for all the time that you've been serving the party."

Independent Black political movements have been tried before.

The largest such movement was the formation of the National Black Political Assembly in 1972, which grew out of a movement led in part by playwright and poet Amiri Baraka. It drew 10,000 African-Americans to Gary, Ind.

The group culminated in 1980 with a National Black Political Convention in Philadelphia with the intent to start an independent Black political party. But, the group became divided when a faction wanted to exclude electoral politics from the charter, recalls University of Maryland Political Scientist Ron Walters.

Subsequently, many members went there separate ways, with many ending up helping Jesse Jackson 1984 presidential campaign.

"We really need our own center of gravity and we don't have it," Walters says. "And because the Black Caucus is not building it for us, we're sort of tied at the ankles, the hips and the shoulders with dysfunctional politics."

Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean does not want African-Americans to leave the party.

"First of all, Democrats are never going to nominate judges like this. Second of all, hopefully the Democratic Party is going to be willing to fight," Deans says.

Some Blacks see Democrats fighting -against them.

Just before the last election, African-American get-out-the-vote groups, including the National Coalition for Black Civic Participation, which includes 84 organizations, were angered when White-led, liberal organizations, called 527s (so named for the section of the Internal Revenue Service that governs their activities), spent approximately $100 million to turn out the Black vote, bypassing traditional Black groups that had been effective in the past.

Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Mel Watt (D-N.C.) is cautious about any movement that loses sight of the real enemies of Black people.

"I'm in favor of a movement, but part of that movement would be to hold them accountable on these two judges and not only to hold Democrats accountable, but to start to communicate to Republicans that there has been a strong history in the area of civil rights of bi-partisanship and that we don't want to turn the clock back. I'm not sure that I believe that this is the time to spend all of our efforts fighting with each other."

Professor Ogletree predicts there will be political repercussions. He says, "I think this will be an example of when we will not stand back and accept this. There will be a cost to pay."

Chicago Defender ~ Hazel Trice Edney ** Blacks urged to form independent political movement

Democrats Also Got Abramoff Lobbyist Funds
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

Democrats Also Got Tribal Donations

Abramoff Issue's Fallout May Extend Beyond the GOP

Lobbyist Jack Abramoff and an associate famously collected $82 million in lobbying and public relations fees from six Indian tribes and devoted a lot of their time to trying to persuade Republican lawmakers to act on their clients' behalf.

But Abramoff didn't work just with Republicans. He oversaw a team of two dozen lobbyists at the law firm Greenberg Traurig that included many Democrats. Moreover, the campaign contributions that Abramoff directed from the tribes went to Democratic as well as Republican legislators.

Among the biggest beneficiaries were Capitol Hill's most powerful Democrats, including Thomas A. Daschle (S.D.) and Harry M. Reid (Nev.), the top two Senate Democrats at the time, Richard A. Gephardt (Mo.), then-leader of the House Democrats, and the two lawmakers in charge of raising funds for their Democratic colleagues in both chambers, according to a Washington Post study. Reid succeeded Daschle as Democratic leader after Daschle lost his Senate seat last November.

Democrats are hoping to gain political advantage from federal and Senate investigations of Abramoff's activities and from the embattled lobbyist's former ties to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.). Yet, many Democratic lawmakers also benefited from Abramoff's political operation, a fact that could hinder the Democrats' efforts to turn the lobbyist's troubles into a winning partisan issue.

"It wouldn't surprise me to see the Abramoff controversy impact both parties," said Tony Raymond, co-founder of PoliticalMoneyLine.com, which gathers lobbying and campaign finance information.

Democratic lawmakers who responded to inquiries for this article said that any money they received from the tribes had nothing to do with Abramoff. They were quick to say they did not know the man.

Federal investigators are examining the millions of dollars in lobbying and public relations fees that Abramoff received from the tribes. They are also looking into his dealings with members of Congress and their staffs, lawyers involved in the inquiry said.

Most lobbying firms here are bipartisan, to give their clients access to key lawmakers of both major parties. Abramoff's group was no exception. Although he was recognized as a Republican lobbyist who was close to DeLay and other party leaders, Abramoff was careful to add at least two Democratic lobbyists to his group during his five years at Greenberg Traurig. By the end, seven of his lobbyists were Democrats.

"Lobbying shops typically direct contributions to both parties because they want contacts on both sides of the aisle," said David M. Hart, a professor of public policy at George Mason University. "Lawmakers in the minority can also have a lot of clout."

According to documents and tribal officials familiar with the Abramoff team's methods, the lobbyists devised lengthy lists of lawmakers to whom the tribes should donate and then delivered the lists to the tribes. The tribes, in turn, wrote checks to the recommended campaign committees and in the amounts the lobbyists prescribed. The money went to incumbents or selected candidates in open seats.

Because of the makeup of his team and the composition of Congress, the Abramoff lobbyists channeled most of their clients' giving to GOP legislators, according to a review of public records. Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), chairman of an Appropriations subcommittee that frequently deals with Indian matters, received the largest amount from the tribes as well as from the Greenberg Traurig lobbyists who helped direct those donations: $141,590 from 1999 to 2004, the study showed.

But Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.) ran second, with $128,000 in the same period. From 1999 to 2001, Kennedy chaired the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which solicited campaign donations for House candidates.

The Indians' largess flowed to higher-ranking Democrats as well. Senate Democratic leaders Reid and Daschle each received more than $40,000 from the tribes and from lobbyists on Abramoff's team during the period. Gephardt got $32,500.

Of the 18 largest recipients of tribe contributions directed by Abramoff's group, six, or one-third, were Democrats. These included Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), who chaired the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee from 2001 to 2002, and Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (N.D.), a leader in Indian affairs legislation.

Over that period, while Abramoff and his lobbyists directed nearly $4 million in funds from the tribes to lawmakers, they also gave from their own pockets. Two-thirds of the total went to Republicans and one-third was handed out to Democrats, according to The Post's calculations.

The six wealthiest tribes that had hired Abramoff's group were the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana, the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana and the Tigua Indian Reservation.

Greenberg Traurig declined to comment. An Abramoff spokesman said: "Each tribe has its own protocol for approving political contributions made by the tribe. Mr. Abramoff and his team provided recommendations on where a tribe should spend its political dollars, but ultimately the tribal council made the final decision on what political contributions to make."

Democratic lawmakers sought to distance themselves from Abramoff.

A spokesman for Kennedy said the congressman's donations from the tribes "have nothing to do with Abramoff." Kennedy traces the money's genesis to his family's long-standing commitment to Indian causes, to the fact that he co-founded the Congressional Native American Caucus in 1997, and to his personal relationship with Mississippi Choctaw Chief Philip Martin, whom Kennedy met in 1999 on a fundraising trip for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "They just became close friends," said Kennedy spokesman Sean Richardson.

James Patrick Manley, Reid's spokesman, also asserted that Reid's connection to tribes was remote from Abramoff. He said that Reid does not know Abramoff. But Abramoff did hire as one of his lobbyists Edward P. Ayoob, a veteran Reid legislative aide. Manley acknowledged that Ayoob helped raise campaign money for his former boss. Lawyers close to the Abramoff operation said that Ayoob held a fundraising reception for Reid at Greenberg Traurig's offices here.

"There's nothing sinister here," Manley said. Reid is a member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee with strong relations with Indian tribes, he explained.

Daschle was familiar with another of Abramoff's Democratic lobbyists, Michael Smith. According to Steve Hildebrand, who was Daschle's campaign manager last year, Smith "helped with a lot of Democratic campaigns." In addition, Daschle was a favorite of Indian tribes and received donations from 64, including five Abramoff clients. "We took about $150,000 in this last election cycle from Indian tribes around the country," Hildebrand said. "Tom is viewed as a champion of Indian issues. We have nine tribes in South Dakota, and they worked hard for him."

Murray also was said to have never laid eyes on Abramoff. "Our office has not had any contact with Jack Abramoff," said the senator's spokeswoman, Alex Glass. "She's been active in Indian health care and in supporting their sovereign governments; that is why they decided to contribute to her. They see her as an advocate."

During the time Murray chaired the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Abramoff's major tribes were significant contributors. Election reports show that the grand total from the tribes to that committee in 2001-2002 reached $175,500.

In March 2001, Dorgan held a fundraising event during a hockey game in a skybox leased by an Abramoff company at MCI Center. But the senator said he believed that the box was controlled by Greenberg Traurig. The event was organized by Smith, the Democratic fundraiser, he added.

"I was unaware that Abramoff was involved," Dorgan said.

Staff writer Susan Schmidt contributed to this report.

Washington Post ~ Jeffrey H. Birnbaum and Derek Willis ** Democrats Also Got Tribal Donations

Deanpeace stands by ?honest living? insult of millions of Reps, and no Dems have refuted or even distanced themselves from it
Mood:  spacey
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

In the first 24 hours since they were made public, no Dems have refuted or even distanced themselves from Howard Dean’s insult of millions of Republican voters. Howard Dean is proving that he intends to hold onto power in the DNC by generating libelous headlines instead of inspiring donors and voters.

Dean Defending Comments About Republicans

WASHINGTON - National Democratic Chairman Howard Dean was defending another of his comments Friday after telling liberal activists a lot of Republicans "have never made an honest living in their lives."

Republicans called his Thursday comment "mudslinging." Some fellow Democrats expressed reservations over his choice of words, too, before Dean amplified his comments.

"The point I was making is clear: Republican policies have declared war on hardworking Americans," Dean said Friday. "I will continue to criticize Republican leaders and their policies, and the Democratic Party will continue to offer constructive alternatives."

The Democratic chairman made the initial comments about Republicans doing "an honest day's work" Thursday during a speech to a Washington conference sponsored by the Campaign for America's Future.

While discussing the hardship of working all day and then standing in line for eight hours to vote, Dean had said, "Well, Republicans, I guess, can do that because a lot of them have never made an honest living in their lives."

Republican spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt said Dean's comment shows his priority "is to generate mudslinging headlines."

Dean has made comments that stirred controversy before. A recent example occurred in May, when Dean said House Majority Leader Tom DeLay "ought to go back to Houston where he can serve his jail sentence."

The House ethics committee is investigating whether DeLay violated congressional rules by taking foreign trips paid for by lobbyists. The Texas Republican has not been charged with a crime, but Dean said later he would not apologize.

Democratic Party efforts to recruit anti-abortion candidates and take a more moderate position on abortion drew fire Friday from Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women.

She told activists at the Campaign for America's Future meeting that leading Democrats are trying too hard to redefine the party's stance on key issues.

Leading Democrats, including New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, who heads Democratic efforts to win seats in the Senate, and party chairman Dean have been overly eager to recruit supporters — and candidates — who don't support abortion choice, she said.

In Pennsylvania, anti-abortion candidate Bob Casey Jr. is the front-runner among Democrats to challenge incumbent Republican Sen. Rick Santorum (news, bio, voting record).

Phil Singer, spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, rejected Gandy's criticism. "We're focused on getting the best candidates to run in the 2006 races without any kind of litmus test," Singer said. "If Democrats lose seats this cycle, we'll see a fundamentally different America."

Gandy said she was concerned about Democrats trying to build support "if it means throwing women's rights overboard like so much ballast, ... if it means abandoning the core principles of the Democratic Party."

Efforts by Democrats and others to blend religion and politics also drew Gandy's criticism.

"So many political leaders are trying to be Republican lite and they're being encouraged by the Democratic Party," she said. "Please, somebody tell them we don't need two Republican parties."

Yahoo News ~ Associated Press - Will Lester ** Dean Defending Comments About Republicans

Robert KKK Byrd?s WV Senate race lead evaporates
Mood:  cheeky
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

The 2006 mid-term could be the one that sees Robert Byrd, the former KKK leader who is the only person to use the 'n-word' on the floor of the Senate, lose his seat after nearly 50 years in office. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican representative who has not even declared her candidacy is essentially tied with the West Virginia lawmaker, according to a new poll. Illinois freshman Senator Barack Obama has recently helped Byrd raise money and Dems are expected to strongly contest the race.

Byrd, Capito race too close to call

By Therese Smith Cox

A new poll shows Sen. Robert Byrd and Rep. Shelley Moore Capito would run neck and neck in a possible campaign for the Senate seat now held by Byrd.

An RMS Strategies Poll released today reports that 46 percent of 401 registered voters in West Virginia would vote for Byrd if the election were held now.

A total of 43 percent picked Capito, R-W.Va., though she has not announced her intention to run.

And 11 percent said they were undecided -- a percentage that could sway the vote either way.

Byrd, a powerful Democrat in his seventh term, dismissed the telephone poll conducted between May 11 and 18 as one of many attempts to predict the outcome of a race a full year and a half in the future.

"They'll all be different," Byrd said. "But no poll can change my job of fighting for West Virginians. People have more important things to worry about right now than that election -- Social Security and health care and taking care of their children.

"My job is to use my experience, seniority and know-how to fight for the people of West Virginia each and every day."

Byrd has not formally announced he will seek an eighth term, but his campaign has been aggressively raising money. In the first three months of this year, freshman Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., helped Byrd raise $1.16 million.

The possible race will be closely monitored as a Capito win could affect the Senate's current political balance of 55 Republicans, 44 Democrats and one Independent.

Capito also said she is focused on her current job in the House of Representatives and her effort to pass an energy bill, create jobs and provide affordable health care.

Still, she said she was flattered that many West Virginians have encouraged her to run for the Senate.

"I intend to keep my options open for 2006 and make a decision in the coming months," Capito said.

Political analyst Robert Rupp of West Virginia Wesleyan College said the poll could indicate such a race would be very tight.

"It is basically a tie," Rupp said. "This shows it's surprisingly close. This means by just putting her name out, she has done very well with this snapshot."

Because Byrd has never been strongly challenged during his nearly half-century in office, the potential campaign would cover "all new territory for West Virginia," Rupp said.

"This poll shows it might be a harder race than what some proponents suggest," he said.

RMS Strategies interviewers used random-digit dialing generated by computer to select respondents, who represented all 55 counties.

Those interviewed included a representative portion of registered voters based on age, gender, race, family income and political party affiliation. Both listed and unlisted telephone households had equal chances of being selected.

Researchers are 95 percent certain that results won't be more than plus or minus 4.9 percent off the actual mark.

In the poll, Byrd received a 62 percent very favorable or somewhat favorable opinion from voters in the state, compared to 33 percent who gave him an unfavorable rating.

Fifty-seven percent of respondents said they hold a very or somewhat favorable opinion of Capito while 19 percent gave her an unfavorable rating.

Charleston Daily Mail ~ Therese Smith Cox ** Byrd, Capito race too close to call

WMD That Never Existed Are ''Missing''
Mood:  chatty
Topic: News

U.N.: Weapons Equipment Missing in Iraq

UNITED NATIONS -- U.N. satellite imagery experts have determined that material that could be used to make biological or chemical weapons and banned long-range missiles has been removed from 109 sites in Iraq, U.N. weapons inspectors said in a report obtained Thursday.

U.N. inspectors have been blocked from returning to Iraq since the U.S.-led war in 2003 so they have been using satellite photos to see what happened to the sites that were subject to U.N. monitoring because their equipment had both civilian and military uses.

In the report to the U.N. Security Council, acting chief weapons inspector Demetrius Perricos said he's reached no conclusions about who removed the items or where they went. He said it could have been moved elsewhere in Iraq, sold as scrap, melted down or purchased.

He said the missing material can be used for legitimate purposes. "However, they can also be utilized for prohibited purposes if in a good state of repair."

He said imagery analysts have identified 109 sites that have been emptied of equipment to varying degrees, up from 90 reported in March.

The report also provided much more detail about the percentage of items no longer at the places where U.N. inspectors monitored them.

From the imagery analysis, Perricos said analysts at the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission which he heads have concluded that biological sites were less damaged than chemical and missile sites.

The commission, known as UNMOVIC, previously reported the discovery of some equipment and material from the sites in scrapyards in Jordan and the Dutch port of Rotterdam.

Perricos said analysts found, for example, that 53 of the 98 vessels that could be used for a wide range of chemical reactions had disappeared. "Due to its characteristics, this equipment can be used for the production of both commercial chemicals and chemical warfare agents," he said.

The report said 3,380 valves, 107 pumps, and more than 7.8 miles of pipes were known to have been located at the 39 chemical sites.

A third of the chemical items removed came from the Qaa Qaa industrial complex south of Baghdad which the report said "was among the sites possessing the highest number of dual-use production equipment," whose fate is now unknown." Significant quantities of missing material were also located at the Fallujah II and Fallujah III facilities north of the city, which was besieged last year.

Before the first Gulf War in 1991, those facilities played a major part in the production of precursors for Iraq's chemical warfare program.

The percentages of missing biological equipment from 12 sites were much smaller -- no higher than 10 percent.

The report said 37 of 405 fermenters ranging in size from 2 gallons to 1,250 gallons had been removed. Those could be used to produce pharmaceuticals and vaccines as well as biological warfare agents such as anthrax.

The largest percentages of missing items were at the 58 missile facilities, which include some of the key production sites for both solid and liquid propellant missiles, the report said.

For example, 289 of the 340 pieces of equipment to produce missiles -- about 85 percent -- had been removed, it said.

At the Kadhimiyah and Al Samoud factory sites in suburban Baghdad, where the report said airframes and engines for liquid propellant missiles were manufactured and final assembly was carried out, "all equipment and missile components have been removed."

UNMOVIC is the outgrowth of a U.N. inspections process created after the 1991 Gulf War in which invading Iraqi forces were ousted from Kuwait. Its staff are considered the only multinational weapons experts specifically trained in biological weapons and missile disarmament.

The report noted that the commissioners who advise UNMOVIC again raised questions about its future. Iraq has called for its Security Council mandate to be terminated because UNMOVIC is funded from past Iraqi oil sales and it wants to be treated like other countries, but the council has not taken up the issue.

France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said Thursday the commission's expertise "should not be lost for the international community."

LA Times ~ Associated Press - Edith M. Lederer ** U.N.: Weapons Equipment Missing in Iraq

New politically correct ''Bible'' claims Jesus was a woman
Mood:  spacey
Now Playing: TESTING THE FAITH
Topic: Odd Stuff

Judith Christ: New "Bible" claims Jesus was a woman

A new politically correct "Bible" changes Jesus? name to Judith and all references to Him were made female. The book aims to "acknowledge the rise of women in society," in the words of publisher Billie Shakespeare (I swear this is not a joke). The article includes a link to the book details on Amazon. Is it heresy, a marketing gimmick or PC gone nuts?

Was Jesus Christ really a woman?

New version of Gospels changes gender of 'Son of God' to female

A publisher is touting a new edition of the Gospels that identifies Christ as a woman named Judith Christ of Nazareth.

LBI Institute says its version, Judith Christ of Nazareth, The Gospels of the Bible, Corrected to Reflect that Christ Was a Woman, Extracted from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, takes Thomas Jefferson's edited Gospel one step futher by "correcting" the gender of Christ and God.

"This long-awaited revised text of the Gospels makes the moral message of Christ more accessible to many, and more illuminating to all," says Billie Shakespeare, vice president for the publisher, in a statement. "It is empowering. We published this new Bible to acknowledge the rise of women in society."

WND sought comment from the LBI Institute's Stephen Glazier, but he did not return messages.

The new version, according to the publisher, revises familiar stories, tranforming the "Prodigal Son" into the "Prodigal Daughter" and the "Lord's Prayer" into the "Lady's Prayer."

A passage compiled from Luke 2, with corresponding verses at the beginning of each sentence, says: "4 And Joseph went to Bethlehem. 5 To be enrolled with Mary, his wife, who was then pregnant. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn child. 21 And her name was chosen to be Judith."

A passage on the crucifixion, from John 19, says: "17 And She bearing her cross went forth. 18 There they crucified Judith."

A resurrection passage from Matthew 28 states: "1 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 5 But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Judith who was crucified." 6 "She is not here; for She is risen."

The book's foreword says, "The Jefferson Bible is faithfully followed by the present book, with the corrections in the name and gender of Christ, the gender of God, and some of the parables."

The publisher explains Jefferson used extracts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John rather than the complete books, in order to tell a "linear, complete, organized story" that emphasizes the moral teachings of Christ.

The foreword says, "Events in the Gospel that do not relate to the moral teachings of Christ are often omitted. However, the basic narrative of Christ's life, death and resurrection is maintained."

Reader reviews on the book's Amazon.com page included these:

♠ "One star because there is nothing lower. May the Lord have mercy on the writers!"

♠ "A friend with a Hebrew doctorate noted to me: 'There is no feminine form of the name Jesus (or Joshua). Judith is the feminine form of the name Juda - or Judas.' How perfectly fitting!"

♠ Reading the other reviews here, I can't believe that this is being touted as being an advance for women's rights. That is just not true. God sent his only SON, not his daughter. It is also true that God loves all of us, male and female the same. He created each of us as we are. We should not strive to become something we are not. This book truly offends me. I agree with the other reviewer, those that produced this book will be held responsible for those they deceive. I pray for each of them.

♠ May the Lord God punish the author of this translation and its publishers if they do not withdraw this herectic bible from print Amen.

World Net Daily.com ** Was Jesus Christ really a woman?

Fucktard Lib Loser Fruitcake Bill Moyers ~ American Dream Is 'Flat on Its Back'
Mood:  silly
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

American Dream Is 'Flat on Its Back,' Moyers Charges

Washington - Retired journalist Bill Moyers told a gathering of liberal activists Friday that the American dream has been knocked "flat on its back" by the influence of "right-wing radicals."

Moyers, who was the opening speaker for the final day of the Take Back America conference in Washington, D.C., pointed to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal as proof of his claim.

"Despite a widespread belief that the United States remains a more mobile society than Europe," Moyers quoted the article to his audience, "economists and sociologists say that in recent decades, the typical child starting out in poverty in Europe or in Canada has had a better chance at prosperity.

"That knocks the American dream flat on its back," he said, "but it should put fire in our bellies because what's at stake is nothing less than what it means to be an American."

Moyers told his audience that being in the nation's capital evokes different emotions for him now than when he served as press secretary for President Lyndon Johnson in the 1960s.

When he visits the Lincoln Memorial, "the temple of democracy seems as deeply steeped in melancholy as it was during the McCarthy era, the war in Vietnam or the trial of Watergate," Moyers said, reminding his audience about Abraham Lincoln's struggles so "government of, for and by the people shall not perish."

Moyers continued: "Then, you turn and you look out as he does on the city where those words are daily mocked. This is no longer Lincoln's city," but instead "an occupied town, a company town," he added to applause from the audience.

"This is a divided city," Moyers said, "not between North and South as in previous times, but between those who can buy all the government they want and those ... who can't even afford to buy a seat in the bleachers.

The retired journalist cited several examples of "what's at stake" for liberals seeking to take back America. He mentioned workers in the American territory of the Northern Mariana Islands who Moyers said were being paid half the minimum wage in a "sweatshop" to produce garments that bore the label "Made in the USA."

A Democratic congressman learned of the situation and got a bill passed by the Senate to extend protections of workers in the country's 50 states to those in the U.S. territories as well.

The journalist stated that he had listened to many Americans during his years as a journalist, and he said the "people on the ground" don't want to get rich, but they do want "a decent-paying job, full Social Security benefits and a simple, comprehensive health-care system."

Moyers said Americans also "want the political system cleaned up. These are not radical views. These are not even liberal views. They are plain American values."

The journalist had words of encouragement for those attending the liberal conference. "You may be on the losing side of the moment, but you will be on the winning side of history," Moyers said before receiving a standing ovation from the audience.

Cybercast News Service ~ Randy Hall ** American Dream Is 'Flat on Its Back,' Moyers Charges

Coward Deanpeace: A lot of Republicans ''never made an honest living in their lives''
Mood:  spacey
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

In the latest Dean rambling, he suggested that Kerry lost Florida because Dems have to work and Republicans do not have to earn a living. This article is full of good stuff including a rebuke of Hillary by Arianna Huffington.

<<<<< DNC Howard Dean made some strong statement about the GOP at a Campaign for America's Future gathering.

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Dean: GOP has 'dark, difficult and dishonest' vision

WASHINGTON — Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean advised party activists Thursday to reach out to evangelicals and voters in all 50 states, but then risked alienating potential GOP converts by suggesting many Republicans don't work for "an honest living."

Dean's comment came as he recalled conditions at crowded Ohio polling stations last fall. He wondered who could expect voters to work all day and then stand in line for eight hours to vote. "Well, Republicans, I guess, can do that because a lot of them have never made an honest living in their lives," he said, drawing some surprised "oohs" from his audience.

Most of Dean's speech at the "Take Back America" conference here was met with whoops, cheers and standing ovations as he attacked Republicans for "the culture of corruption and the abuse of power" in Washington, and accused the Bush administration of ignoring corporate "stealing" of pensions canceled during bankruptcy proceedings.

Tracey Schmitt, spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, called the "honest living" comment "mudslinging" and scored Dean for attacking the work ethic of "the record number of hardworking Americans who voted for President Bush." Democratic Party spokeswoman Karen Finney said Dean was referring to "Republican politicians and Republican leadership, not hardworking American people."

Dean's remark was the latest in a string of provocative comments that Democratic strategists say fire up activists but complicate the job of expanding the party. "He's got a lot of pluses, and he fires off the occasional errant missile," consultant David Axelrod said.

Axelrod and other Democrats counted Thursday's incident as a missile. "That kind of language doesn't exactly improve our chances of making the case" to Republicans that they should vote Democratic, he said. Mike McCurry, a strategist for John Kerry's 2004 campaign and the Clinton White House, said Dean was making a point about "the pressures on working people." But he added, "Class warfare usually doesn't get us very far."

Matt Bennett, spokesman for the Democratic centrist group Third Way, called the comment "a poor choice of words." Still, he said, "I can't think of a single instance in which an utterance by a party chair has really had a huge impact on an election."

The spectacle amused some Republicans. "Watching a Howard Dean speech is a little like people who go to a NASCAR race to see a crash," said Ed Gillespie, a former Republican Party chairman. He watched Thursday's speech live on C-SPAN and "I just thought, there he goes again."

Tony Fabrizio, another GOP strategist, said Dean is the one who's out of touch with people's real concerns: "He's ranting and raving about Republicans not having held real jobs. It's hatred, hatred and more hatred."

Marc Hetherington, a Vanderbilt University political scientist, called Dean "the party chairman for our times," polarized times that began in the 1990s with the ascent of Newt Gingrich to House speaker. He said Republicans, if they were out of power, would want "somebody who stirs the pot, who gets attention, who speaks to the ideologues that fund the party." In short, somebody much like Dean.

USA Today ~ Jill Lawrence ** Dean: GOP has 'dark, difficult and dishonest' vision

Two Plead Guilty to Voting Twice in 2004
Mood:  d'oh
Topic: News

Two Plead Guilty to Voting Twice in 2004

SEATTLE -- As the results of 2004's general election are being contested in court halfway across the state, two people pleaded guilty Thursday to voting twice in the election.

Doris McFarland, 83, and Robert Holmgren, 59, each admitted in King County District Court that they forged the signatures of and cast ballots for their recently deceased spouses.

Each will have to pay $490 in fines and court fees but they won't spend any time in jail. Multiple voting is a gross misdemeanor that can carry up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine.

"My wife died just before this election," Holmgren told Judge Eileen Kato. "My judgment was clouded by the grief. I'm really sorry for what I did."

McFarland's lawyer, John Price, told the judge that she simply didn't know what to do with the extra absentee ballot after her husband of 63 years, Earl, passed away last October.

The judge told each client the court was sorry for their losses and wished them luck.

The King County prosecutor's office is investigating five additional cases of multiple voting in the county, but no charges have been filed.

King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng said the pleas sent a message that "our system is dependent on the honor of its participants, and those who cheat may wind up in court explaining it to a judge."

"At the same time, today's disposition recognizes that these people made a very human mistake during a time of grieving. ... Their motivation in these cases was not to throw an election, but to remember a loved one," Maleng said.

In Chelan County Superior Court in Wenatchee, Republican candidate Dino Rossi and the state GOP have challenged the 129-vote victory of Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire, alleging that election officials' errors, illegal voters and fraud stole the election from Rossi.

The case has focused particularly on King County, which has a third of the state's total votes.

Washington Post ~ Associated Press - Gene Johnson ** Two Plead Guilty to Voting Twice in 2004